Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival Part 1

The 15^th Annual Waikīkī Steel Guitar Festival was held on Saturday, July 12, 2025. The first segment began at 11:00 AM and featured steel guitarists Steve Cheney, Geronimo "Geri" Valdriz from Maui, Greg Sardinha & Po‘okela, Johnny Crash from Santos (São Paulo) Brazil, Christo Ruppenthal from Madison, Wisconsin, and Kiyoshi "Lion" Kobayashi from Tokyo, Japan. The second segment began at 4:00 PM and featured Masami Sato and Makana from Japan, Bobby Ingano, Mālie Lyman, and Alan Akaka. Emcee was Kimo Kahoano.

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• Featured steel guitarist Steve Cheney.
• Backup guitarists Bill Rhyne and Kaipo Asing.
• Kaipo Asing.
• Steve Cheney with Bill Rhyne.
• Alan Akaka.
• Steve Cheney with Helene Woodward, Alan Akaka, Bill Rhyne, and Kaipo Asing.
• Helene Woodward and Alan Akaka.
• Featured steel guitarist Geronimo ʻʻGeriʻʻ Valdriz.
• Geri Valdriz with Bill Rhyne.
• Geri Valdriz and Bill Rhyne.
• Emcee Kimo Kahoano.
• Featured steel guitarist Greg Sardinha.
• Darrell Aquino.
• Greg Sardinha with Alan Akaka and Darrell Aquino.
• Alan Akaka, Darrell Aquino, Greg Sardinha, and Kaipo Asing.
• Kaipo Asing.
• Featured steel guitarist Johnny Crash (Fabio Martins).
• Johnny Crash with Helene Woodward, Alan Akaka, Bill Rhyne, and Kaipo Asing.
• Bill Rhyne.
• Featured steel guitarist Christo Ruppenthal.
• Christo Ruppenthal with Helene Woodward, Alan Akaka, Bill Rhyne, and Kaipo Asing.
• The Royal Hawaiian Center's sound crew.
• Featured steel guitarist Kiyoshi ʻʻLionʻʻ Kobayashi.
• Lion Kobayashi and Hajime Takahashi.
• Masako Wakamatsu with Bill Rhyne and Kaipo Asing.
• Lion Kobayashi and his Steel Guitar Ensemble (Sakae Machida, Haruko Ozeki, Hajime Takahashi, and Masako Wakamatsu) with Helene Woodward, Alan Akaka, Bill Rhyne, and Kaipo Asing.
• Sakae Machida.
• Haruko Ozeki.

Back to Gallery: 2025 Waikiki Steel Guitar Week

Photography by Don Rostow ©2025 by Don Rostow and HIMELE.